A new test method to study the influence of pore pressure on fracture behaviour of concrete during heating

Autor: Pierre Pimienta, Francesco Lo Monte, Roberto Felicetti
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cement and Concrete Research. 94:13-23
ISSN: 0008-8846
DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.01.002
Popis: Fracture behaviour of concrete at high temperature is one of the factors governing explosive spalling, namely the expulsion of chunks due to both pressure build-up in the pores and stress induced by thermal gradients and external loads. In this context, a special experimental setup has been developed aimed at performing simple indirect-tension tests under different levels of sustained pore pressure. A cubic specimen is heated on two opposite faces, whereas the lateral sides are sealed and thermally insulated, so as to instate a mono-dimensional thermo-hygral transient field. In the splitting test, fracture develops along the symmetry plane, where both temperature and pressure are monitored by means of a customized probe. The results show that pore pressure has a significant influence on the mechanical response of heated concrete, though the concurrent contribution of external load and thermal strain is required for triggering explosive spalling.
Databáze: OpenAIRE